93

CASE No.9
THE ZYKLON B; CASE
TRIAL OF BRUNO TESCH AND TWO OTHERS
BRITISH MILITARY COURT, HAMBURG,
1sT-8TH MARCH, 1946
Complicity of German industrialists in the murder of interned
allied civilians by means ofpoison gas.
BrunoTeschwasownerof afirmwhicharrangedforthesupply
ofpoison gas inten<,led for the extermination ofvermin,
andamongthecustomers ofthe:firmwerethe8.8. Karl
WeinbacherwasTesch'sProcuristorsecond-in-command.
Joachim Drosihn was the firm's first gassing technician.
These three were accused ofhaving supplied poison gas
used for killing allie<;l nationalsinternedinconcentration
camps, knowingthatitwas so to beused. TheDefence
claimed that the accused did not know of the use to
which the gas was to be put; for Drosihn it was also
pleaded that the supply ofgas was beyond his control.
Tesch and Weinbacher were condemned to death.
Drosihnwas acquitted.
A. OUTLINE OF THE PROCEEDINGS
1. TIm COURT
The Court consisted ofBrigadier R. B. L. Persse, as President,and, as
members,Lt. Col. SirGeoffreyPalmer, Bart., Co1dstream Gds., and Major
S. M. Johnstone, RoyalTankRegt.
Capt. H. S. Marshallwas Waiting Member.
C. L. Stirling, Esq., C.RE., Barrister-at-Law, Deputy Judge Advocate
General, wasJudgeAdvocate.
Major G. I.D. Draper, Irish Guards, Judge Advocate General's Branch,
HQ. RA.O.R., was Prosecutor.
Three German Counsel appeared on behalf of the accused. Dr. O.
Zippel, Dr. C. StummeandDr. A. StegemanndefendedTesch, Weinbacher
andDrosihn respectively.
2. THE CHARGE
The accused, Bruno Tesch,Joachim Drosihn and Karl Weinbacher, were
charged with a war crimein that they"at Hamburg, Germany, between
1stJanuary, 1941, and31stMarch, 1945,inviolationofthelaws andusages
ofwar did supplypoison.gas used for the extermination ofallied nationals
internedinconcentrationcampswellknowingthatthesaidgas was to be so
used." The accusedpleadednotguilty. .
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94 THE ZYKLON B' CASE
3. THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION
The prosecuting Counsel, in his opening address, stated that Dr. Bruno
Tesch was by 1942 the sole owner of a firm known as Tesch and Stabenow,
whose activities were divided into three main categories. In the first place;
it distributed certain types of gas and gassing equipment for disinfecting
various public buildings, including Wehrmacht barracks and S.S. concentra-
tion camps. Secondly, it provided, where required, expert technicians to
carry out these gassing operations. Lastly, Dr. Tesch and Dr. Drosihn,
the firm's senior gassing technician, carried out instruction for the Wehr-
macht and the S.S. in the use of the gas which the firm supplied. The
predominant importance of these gassing operations in war-time lay in their
value in the extermination of lice.
The chief gas involved was Zyklon B, a highly dangerous poison gas,'
99 per cent.' of which was prussic acid. The gas was manufactured by
another firm. Tesch and Stabenow had the exclusive agency for the supply
of the gas east of the River Elbe, but the Zyklon B itself went directly from
the manufacturers to the customer.
The contention for the Prosecution was that from 1941 to 1945 Zyklon B.
was being supplied as a direct result of orders accepted by the accused's
firm, Tesch and Stabenow. On that basis, the Zyklon B was going in vast
quantities to the largest concentration camps in Germany east of the Elbe.
In these same camps the S.S. Totenkopfverbande were, from 1942 to 1945,
systematically exterminating human beings to an estimated total of six
million, of whom four and a half million were exterminated by the use of
Zyklon B in one camp alone, known as AuschwitzjBirkenau. In these
concentration camps were a vast number of people from the occupied
territories of Europe, including Czechs, Russians, Poles, French, Dutch
and Belgians, and people from neutral countries and from the United States',
The Prosecutor also claimed that over a period of time the three accused
got to know of this wholesale extermination of human beings in the eastern
concentration camps by the S.S. using Zyklon B gas, and that, having
acquired this knowledge, they o n t i n u to arrange supplies of the gas to these
customers in the S.S. in ever-increasing quantities, until in the early months of
1944 the consignment per month to Auschwitz concentration camp was
nearly two tons.
The accused Weinbacher was a " Procurist"; when Tesch was absent
he was fully empowered and authorised to do all acts on behalf of his
principal which his principal could have done. His position was of great
importance, since his principal would travel on the business of the firm for
as many as 200 days in the year.
The case for the Prosecution was that knowingly to supply a commodity
to a branch of the State which was using that commodity for the mass exter-
mination of Allied civilian nationals was a war crime, and that the people
who did it were war criminals for putting the means to commit the
crime into the hands of those who actually carried it out. The
action of the accused was in violation of Article 46 of the Hague
Regulations of 1907, to which the German government and Great Britain
were both parties.
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95 THE ZYKLON B CASE
4; THE EVIDENCE FOR THE PROSECUTION
Emil Sehm, a former bookkeeper and accountant employed by Tesch
and Stabenow, supplied information, regarding the legitimate business
activities of the firm and the positions of the three accused therein, which
substantially bore out the opening statements of the Prosecutor on these
points. He went on to state that in the Autumn of 1942 he saw in the files
of the firm's registry one of the reports, dictated by Tesch, which gave
accounts of his business journeys. In this travel report, Tesch recorded an
interview with leading members of the Wehrmacht, during which he was
told that the burial, after shooting, of Jews in increasing numbers' was
proving more and more unhygienic, and that it was proposed to kill them
with prussic acid. Dr. Tesch, when asked for his views, had proposed to
use the same method, involving the release of prussic acid gas in an enclosed
space, as was used in the extermination of vermin. He undertook to train
the S.S. men in this new method of killing human beings.
" Sehm had written down a ~ t of these facts and taken it away with him,
but had burnt it the next day on the advice of an old friend, named Wilhelm
Pook, to whom he had related what he had seen.
Dr. Marx, a German Barrister practising since 1934, who was called upon
to define the status of a Procurist in German law, said:
" The procurist had the right to act in the name and on behalf of the
firm. He is a man who, out of all the others mentioned in the \aw
who have also the right to act on behalf of the firm, has most of these
rights. He has the right to act on behalf of the firm and to conclude
any transactions or any sort of act on behalf of the firm, and to conclude
any transactions or any sort of legal proceedings in which the firm
might find itself involved. One can say that anybody who has any
sort of transactions with a man who holds the ' Procura ' and who is
called the Procurist is. in exactly the same position as if he had had
that transaction with the head of the firm."
Erna Biagini, a former stenographer of the firm, who was also in charge
of the registry, claimed to have read, in "approximately 1942," a travel
report of Dr. Tesch which stated that Zyklon B could be used for killing
human beings as well as vermin.
Anna Uenzelmimn, a former stenographer of the firm, said that in about
June 1942 Tesch, after he had dictated a travel report on returning from
Berlin, had told her that Zyklon Bwas being used for gassing human beings,
and had appeared to be as terrified and shocked about the matter as she
was.
Karl Ruehmling, who had been a bookkeeper and assistant gassing master
with the firm, said that Zyklon B was sent by the concern to the concentration
camps at Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen and Neuengamme, but Auschwitz was
sent the largest consignments.
Alfred Zaun, who was in charge of the firm's bookkeeping, said that, in
his opinion; Auschwitz of all the concentration camps had received the
most Zyklon B during the war.
Wilhelm Bahr, an ex-medical orderly at Neuengamme, described a prussic
acid course which he had attended in the S.S. Hospital at Oranienburg in
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96 THE ZYKLON B CASE
1942, and which Dr. Tesch had conducted. He said that he himselfhad
gassed two hundred Russian prisoners of war in Neuengamme in 1942,
using prussic acid gas, but that it was not Dr. Tesch who had taught him
theprocedurewhich hehad applied.
Perry Broad, who had been a Rottenfiihrer in the Kommandatur ofthe
Auschwitz.camp from June 1942 until early 1945, described how persons
weregassedtherewithZyklonB. Thepeoplebeinggassed,tohisknowledge,
at Auschwitz and Birkenau were German deportees, Jews from Belgium,
Holland, France, North Italy, Czechoslovakia and Poland, and Gypsies.
Dr. Bendel, who had been a prisoner at Auschwitz and had acted as a
doctor to the inmates, said that from February 1944 to January 1945 a
million peoplehad been killed there by Zyklon B.
The remaining Prosecution witnesses were a member of aBritish war
crimes investigation team, who identified pre-trial statements made by the
accused; Wilhelm Pook and his wife; and five moreemployees ofTesch
andStabenow. TheevidenceofPookandhiswife supportedthatofSehm
to a degree, thoughnotin every detail, butthefact that theyhaddiscussed
the events of 1942 between his and their giving evidence was recognised
by the Judge Advocate to be " undoubtedly unfortunate."
The Prosecution, acting in accordance with Regulation 8(i) (a) ofthe
RoyalWarrant, submittedto theCourta swornaffidavitinwhichDr.Diels,
a former high-ranking German government official, stated that it was
commonknowledgein 1943 in Germanythatgas was beingused forkilling
people.
Amongvarious otherdocuments(l) Dr.Tesch'sS.S. subscriptioncardwas
.produced before the Court; the Defence pointed out, however, that this
did notprovethatDr. Tesch had been an activemember oftheS.S.
5. THE OPENING STATEMENTS OF DEFENCE COUNSEL
(i) Counsel for Tesch
BeforecallingTeschtothewitness-box,hisCounselstatedthatheintended
to prove to the court, first, that Tesch had no knowledge ofthe killing of
human beings by means ofZyklon B; secondly, that Zyklon B was de-
livered only for normal purposes ofdisinfection and for medical reasons ;
thirdly, thatparts ofgas chambers were sold only for thepurpose ofexter-
minating vermin; fourthly, that concentration camps got the.gas only in
amounts which were quitenormalinrelation to thenumber ofinhabitants,
and onlyfor killing vermin; and fifthly, thatinstruction courses 'were held
only according to the relevant laws and regulations, and again onlyfor the
purpose ofteaching the method ofexterminatingvermin.
(ii) Counsel for Weinbacher
Dr. Stumme, defending Weinbacher, said that by the evidence which he
would call, he would try to prove that Weinbacher had no knowledge of
any noteorreport by Dr. Tesch to theeffect thathuman beings were being
killed by poison gas, and that until the capitulation ofGermany he never
(1) Ofthevarious documents admitted as evidencein thetrial (includingfive affidavits,
andthepre-trialstatementsbyalloftheaccused)theSecretariatoftheUnitedNationsWar
CrimesCommissionhasonlybeenabletoexamineanextractfromtheaffidavitof Dr.Diels.
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97 THE ZYKLON B CASE
had any reason to believe that Zyklon B was being used for any other
purpose than the destruction ofvermin.
(iii) Counsel for Drosihn
Counsel forDrosihn set out to prove, by the evidence which he called,
first, that Dr.Drosihn had nothing to do with the business concerning the
supply ofgas; secondly, that, being onjourneys for considerable periods,
hehadonlyaveryscantyknowledgeoftheactivitiesofthebusiness; thirdly,
thatheheard aboutthegassing ofhuman beings only afterthecapitulation
of Germany; and fourthly, that henever carried outinstruction eitherin
concentration camps orfor S.S. personnel.
6. THE EVIDENCE FOR THE DEFENCE
(i) Dr. Tesch
All three accused gave evidence on oath. Dr. Tesch stated that he had
heard nothing and had known nothing about human beings being killed in
concentration camps with prussic acid. He denied ever having attended
any conference, or having been approached by any official or military
authority on the subject, or having written in any document that human
beings should be killed by prussic acid. Hespecifically denied thathehad
madetheremarksreferred to byAnna Uenzelmann. Hehadnever been to
Auschwitz himselfand had had no reason to believe that the camps were
incorrectly run.
He did not think that deliveries to Auschwitz were very high because it
was a large campand, further, it " administered morecampsintheGeneral
GovernmentofPoland." Hecouldnotremember Dr. Drosihnever having
instructed S.S. men. Although the witness had paid subscriptions to both
the S.S. andthe NaziParty, he had never been anactive member ofeither.
He thought that the passage in the travel report which Erna Biagini had
read might have been a record ofan answer putto him by pupil. .
Drosihn, statedTesch, was a technicalexpertandwas notconcernedwith
the administration of the firm or the office.Weinbacher, however, had
complete control when Tesch was away from'the office.
(ii) Karl Weinbacher
This accused, giving evidence on oath, said thathis work was, briefly, t9
lookafter thecurrent business affairs intheabsence ofDr. Tesch, seeingto
theincoming andthe outgoing mail, answering any queries, andconfirming
.any orders received. He read some ofDr. Tesch's travelreportsbutnotall,
.because there were too many; in particular, he had not read any dealing
with the possibility ofdestroying Jews with Zyklon B. Dr. Tesch had not
mentionedanysuchpossibilitytohim, norhadthewitness heardduringthe
warthatJews were beinggassed. Hehadnever beeninsidea concentration
camp, nor hadhe received unfavourable reports during the war about such
camps. He, too, stated that Drosihn had nothing to do with the business
management. He could not agreethatthe S.S. would necessarily come to
Dr. Tesch for advice ontheextermination ofhumanbeings with ZyklonB,
since, although Dr. Tesch was an expert on the use ofthe gas, there were
plenty ofbooks avaIlable on prussic acid.
Eo
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98 THE ZYKLON B CASE
(iii) Dr. Drosihn
Drosihn claimed that his part in the activities ofthe firm consisted in
collaboratingonscientificissues, beinginchargeofthegassing, forinstance,
ofshipsinHamburgdocks,andexaminingdelousingchamberstoseewhether
they were working correctly. He spent about 150 to 200 days a year in
travelling onbusiness. Hehadbeentocheck theworking ofthedelousing
chambersinSachsenhausenandRavensbruckandhadbeentoNeuengamme;
buthadneither beento Auschwitz, norgiven instructions tothe S.S. inany
place. He knew nothing ofthe size ofconsignments ofgas to Auschwitz.
Contraryto Tesch's evidence, the witness claimed to have reported to him
once that he had seen happening in. the camps things that were contrary
tohumandignity.
(iv) The "Remaining Defence Witnesses
Nine otherwitnesses called bytheDefencedid notaddvery substantially
to the evidence before the Court. The subjects covered by their remarks
includedthecharacter ofDr. Tesch, andtheextent ofgeneral knowledgein
Germany concerning the killing of Jews. Inter alia, they were caIled to
prove that Zyklon Bwas widely used for the legitimate purpose ofkilling
vermin. These witnesses were two Medical Officers from Hamburg, a
doctor and two chemists employed by the German Hygiene Institute, a
retired professor of the same institute, the Manager of the Disinfection
Institute of Hamburg, a stenotypist formaIly employed by Tesch and
Stabenow, andDr. Stumme,oneoftheDefenceCounsel,who gaveevidence
regardingthe Germanlawregarding State secrets.
7. THE CLOSING ADDRESSES OF THE DEFENCE COUNSEL
(i) Counsel for Tesch
Inhis closing address, Dr. Zippel, dealingwiththepointoflawinvolved,
submitted that, since the charge was not one ofdestroying human life but
onlyofsupplyingthemeansofdoingso, suchactionwouldonlybecontrary
tothelawsandusages ofwarifthemeanssuppliedwerenecessarilyintended
tokillhumanbeings. Tosupplya materialwhichalso hadquitelegitimate
purposeswas nowarcrime.(2)
Turning to the facts, Counsel claimed that while supplies ofZyklon B
totheS.S.werelarge,itwasthedutyoftheS.S.toseethatthestateofhealth
in the eastern provinces was kept at a high level, and it was concerned
notonlywiththeWehrmachtitself, butalso withthestateofhealthofthose
partsoftheeasternprovinceswhosepopulation was repatriated to Germany
before theentry ofGermanyinto war with Russia. Supplies were nottoo
great to have been used whoIly for legitimate purposes. Since 1944 the
S.S.hadhadunlimitedpermissiontousethegas forthedestructionofvermin
and the prevention of epidemics. He submitted that even in the con-
centration camps the gas was, at least at the beginning, used only for its
legitimatepurpose.
(.) The English translation ofDr. Zippel's speech subsequently contains thefollowing
passage.: " I have two duties to perform. Thefirst would beto try toprovethatTesch
supplied this gas not knowing for what purposes it might be used. My second duty
is that, even ifhe knew something about it, still the laws ofthis procedure would not
suffice to find him guilty."
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99 THE ZYKLON B CASE
Counsel then questioned whether the Zyklon B. used at Auschwitz for
killing human beings had been supplied by Tesch and Stabenow. . The fact
that Auschwitz was situated in the districtJor which the firm were the agents
could not be decisive, for other firms were able to supply that district,
especially since during the war the boundaries of the districts were not so
much respected as before. Further, the S.S. had been active all over the
occupied territories during the war and had had various means of securing
the gas. So many people were killed by gassing in Auschwitz that the S.S.
must necessarily have used sources other than Tesch and Stabenow.
Counsel observed that the witnesses who were called to prove that Dr.
Tesch knew about the unlawful use of his gas had given different versions
as to how he must or should have known about such use. He proceeded
also to throw doubts on the reliability of Sehm, for instance, in. view of a
statement of his, denied by many other witnesses, that the files of the firm
in which he had found the travel report were kept under lock and key.
Miss Biagini had denied that she saw anything in this report about a con-
ference with the High Command of the Wehrmacht or any propositions
made by Dr. Tesch to this authority. None of the typists who could have
typed the travel report in question knew of it or of any rumour in the office
regarding it. Under the existing war-time regulations of secrecy, it seemed
impossible that a man as careful as Tesch should have dictated a report
on an interview with the High Command on such a secret matter, placed
the report where anyone in the office could read it, as was the case with all
travel reports, and then discussed the facts with his employees. Dr. Tesch
had been shown to be a fair and honest man, and his concentration on his
work explained why he had not heard any rumour which may have cir-
culated Germany concerning the gassing of human beings. Regarding the
large supplies of gas to Auschwitz in particular, Counsel submitted that Dr.
Tesch was too busy to be expected to know what individual customers
bought, and in any case the supply of Zyklon was not as important to the
firm were its gassing activities. Furthermore, Dr. Tesch had regarded
Auschwitz as a transit camp needing therefore unusually frequent delousing.
Counsel concluded that Dr. Tesch knew nothing of the gassing of human
beings either in Auschwitz or Neuengamme.
(ii) Counsel for Weinbacher
In his closing address, Dr. Stumme submitted that it had become clear
during the trial that Weinbacher did not know that Zyklon B had been
used for the killing of human beings. Not one of the witnesses could say
really that Weinbacher had any knowledge of a travel report or any ob-
servation of Dr. Tesch that human beings had been killed by Zyklon B,
or that Dr. Tesch had conversations with Weinbacher on such a subject.
Nor had the trial shown that Weinbacher should have had reasonable
suspicion, 'or grounds for suspicion, that Zyklon B had been used for the
killing of human beings. Even if Dr. Tesch had written such a travel report
as the one alleged, Weinbacher need not have read it, because he was a busy
man, and witnesses had shown that many of the travel reports were filed and
read by no one. Even Sehm claimed to have come across the particular
report by accident, and Miss Biagini because she had to file it. He repeated
Dr. Zippel's argument that Dr. Tesch would not write a State secret in a
El
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100 THE ZYKLONB CASE
document which all the staff could read. If Sehm had found any other
document,itmusthavebeenpurelybyaccident; andno such accidenthad
happened to Weinbacher. In connection with the large supplies of gas
which were sent to Auschwitz, Counsel pointed out that Weinbacher had
stated on oath that he had never had a summary of supplies to a single
customerbecausethis waslefttotheaccountants. Inanycase, ithadbeen
shown that thequantity ofZyklonB neededforthekillingofhumanbeings
was much smaller than thatrequired for the killing ofinsects. The quan-
tities ofZyklon Bneeded for killing halfa million oreven a millionhuman
beings stood in such small proportion to the quantities needed for the
killing ofinsects that it would not have been noticed at all. Therefore,
there had been no need for Weinbacher to have grown suspicious, since,
claimedCounsel, heknewthatAuschwitzwas oneofthebiggestcampsand
a sortoftransitcamp. Counseldidnotthink, therefore, thatitwascorrect
to assume that the large quantity of Zyklon going to Auschwitz was any
indication ofthefact that human beings were being killed there. Supplies
for Neuengammewere muchlower thanthosefor Auschwitz.
Dr. Stumme did not deal with the law involved, except for stating that
Weinbacher, although a procurist, was still only an employee likeSehm
and Miss Biagini, against whom no action was being taken, despite the
knowledge whichtheywere saidtohave had.
(iii) Counsel for Drosihn
Dr. Stegemann, in his closing address, confined his remarks to what
concerned his client exclusively, while c;laiming the benefit of everything
favourabletohimwhichhadalreadybeensaidbytheotherCounsel. Every
witness who was asked hadsaid thattheaccusedhadhad nothingwhatever
todowiththefirm'sbusinessactivities. Hecouldnot,therefore,forinstance,
have known ofthe size ofthe consignments to Auschwitz. His relatively
smallsalaryshowed'his'subordinateposition. Hewas a zoologist, andfirst
technical gassing master to the firm, and spent more than halfthe year in
travelling. When both Tesch and Weinbacher were away, Mr. Zaun had
hadthepower ofattorney, not Drosihn.
Both Dr. Tesch and Dr. Drosihn had said that the latter had never in-
structed S.S. men in the use ofZyklon B, and noteven Sehm claimed that
he knew anything aboutthe alleged travel report. Drosihnhadbeenaway
from the office for irregular periods, and was in no position to read Dr.
Tesch'stravelreports,whichwereinanycaseofnointeresttohim. Counsel
deniedthattherehadbeengeneralknowledgeinGermanybeforetheendof
ofthe war about the gassing ofJews; his client could not therefore have
acquiredsuchknowledgefrom rumours.
8. THE PROSECUTOR'S CLOSING ADDRESS
In his closing address, the prosecuting Counsel said that the possibility
thatsome firm otherthanTesch and Stabenowcouldhave supplied Zyklon
B to Auschwitz could be ruled out, as the latter had the monopoly in that
area. Theessential question was whether theaccused knew ofthe purpose
to which their gas was being put. Counsel admitted that the S.S. were
under no restrictions as tothe use they made ofthegas, and thatthe direct
knowledge which was available to Tesch asto thatuse was ofthescantiest,
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THE ZYKLON 8 CASE 101
due tothe fear and secrecy in which the S.S. worked. He relied for his
case on the evidence ofSehm, Miss Biagini and Miss Uenzelmann.
Counsel said that it was unbelievable that Dr. Tesch did not know that
anythIng wrong went on in the concentration camps. Dr. Drosihn had
said without hesitation that he saw things there whichwere not worthy of
human dignity, andthathe hadsaid so to Tesch. It was also unbelievable
thatDr.Teschhadnoknowledgeoftheamountsofgasbeingsuppliedtothe
S.S. andtoAuschwitzinparticular,byafirm whichwaswhollyhisproperty.
In 1942 and 1943 Auschwitz had been the firm's second largest customer.
Dr. Teschhadno reason to believe thatAuschwitz was a transitcamp, and
moreoverhewas tooefficientamantobedupedbytheS.S. Counselcom-
pleted his case against Tesch by casting doubt on his veracity by showing
howcontradictions existedbetween hisstatementsandthoseof other witnesses
oncertain details unrelatedtothemainissue.
Dealing very shortlywithWeinbacher's position, Counselcontendedthat
all thatTesch knew must, from the nature ofthe inner organisation ofthe
business, have also been known by Weinbacher. For200 days in the year
he was insole controlofthefirm, with access toallthe books, able toread
the travel reports, indeed compelled to read the travel reports ifhe was to
carryon the business properly during the periods when his principal was
away.
Prosecuting Counsel claimed that Drosihn must to some extent have
sharedtheconfidenceofTeschandWeinbacher, 6Jlen althoughhis activities
were confined to the technical side ofthe firm as opposed to the sales and
bookkeeping side.
Heconcluded that, by supplying gas, knowing that it was to be used for
murder, the three accused had made themselves accessories before the fact
to thatmurder.
9. THE SUMMING UP OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE
The Judge Advocate, in summing up the evidence before the Court,
pointed out that the latter must be sure of three facts, first, that Allied
nationals had been gassed by means ofZyklon B; secondly, that this gas
had been supplied by Tesch and Stabenow; and thirdly, that the accused
knew that the gas was to be used for thepurpose ofkilling human beings.
Onpoints oflawhe didnotthinkthattheCourtneededanydirection.
Mter summarising the evidence ofthe Prosecution witnesses, the Judge
Advocate said: "Tomy mind, although it is entirely a question for you,
thereal strengthoftheProsecutioninthiscaserests ratheruponthegeneral
proposition that, when you realise what kind ofa man Dr. Tesch was, it
inevitably follows that he must have known every little thing about his
.business. TheProsecutionask you to saythatthe accused andhis second-
in-command Weinbacher, both competent business men, were sensitive
about admitting that theyknewat the relevant timeof the sizeof the deliveries
ofpoisongastoAuschwitz. TheProsecutionthenask:"Whyisitthatthese
competent business men are so sensitive about these particular deliveries?
Is it because they themselves knew that such large deliveries could not
possibly be going there for the purpose of delousingclothing or for the
purpose ofdisinfecting buildings?"
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102 THE ZYKLON B CASE
InWeinbacher's case, there was nodirectevidence, either bywayofcon'"
versation or ofanything that he had written among the documents ofthe
firmproducedduringthetrial,whichformedanykindofevidencespecifically
imputingknowledge toWeinbacher as to howZyklon Bwas being used at
Auschwitz. "But ihe Prosecution," said the Judge Advocate, "ask you
tosaythat,inhiscaseasinTesch'scase,therealstrengthoftheircaseis not
the individual direct evidence, but the general atmosphere and conditions
ofthefirm itself." TheJudge Advocate asked the Courtwhether ornotit
was probable thatWeinbacher would constantly watch the figures relating
to a less profitable activity of the firm, particularly since he received a
commission onprofits as well as his salary.
The Judge Advocate emphasised Drosihn's subordinate'position in the
firm, and asked whether there was anyevidence that he was ina position
either to influence the transfer ofgas to Auschwitz or to prevent it. If
hewerenotinsucha position,noknowledgeoftheusetowhichthegaswas
beingputcouldmakehimguilty.
10. THE VERDICT
Tesch and Weinbacher were found guilty.
Drosihn was acquitted.
11. THE SENTENCE
Counsel for Tesch, pleading inmitigation ofsentence, said that ifTesch
did know the use to which thegas was being put, andhadconsented toit,
this happened only under enormous pressure from the S.S. Furthermore,
had Tesch not co-operated, the S.S. would certainly have achieved their
aims by other means. Tesch was merely anaccessory before the fact, and
evenso, anunimportant one.
Counsel for Weinbacher pleaded that the Court should consider the
latter'swife andthreechildren; that heas a businessemployeemighthave
thoughtthattheultimateuseofthegaswasTesch'sresponsibility; andthat
ifhehadrefusedtosupplyZyklonBtheS.S. wouldimmediatelyhavehanded
him overto the Gestapo.
Nevertheless, subjecttoconfirmation, thetwo were sentencedto deathby
hanging.
The sentences were confirmed and carriedinto effect.
B. NOTES ON THE CASE
1. A QUESTION OF JURISDICTION: THE NATIONALITY OF THE VICTIMS
The Prosecutor specified a number ofAllied countries from which, he
claimed, many ofthe persons gassed had originated. Wilhelm Bahr told
howhehimselfhadgassed two hundred Russians. PerryBroadmentioned
Jews from Belgium, Holland, France, Czechoslovakia and Poland, among
those gassed at Auschwitz. The Judge Advocate, in his summing up,
stated that"among those unfortunate creatures undoubtedly there were
many Allied nationals."
It was not alleged that Britishcitizens were amongthe victims.
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THE ZYKLON B CASE 103
The British claim to jurisdiction over the case could be based primarily
onthefactthatbytheDeclarationregardingthedefeatofGermanyandthe
assumption ofsupreme authority with respect to Germany, made in Berlin
on the 5th June, 1945, the four Allied Powers occupying Germany have
assumed supreme authority therein. They have,therefore,becomethelocal
sovereigns in Germany. There is vested, then, in the United Kingdom
authorities, administering the British Zone of Germany, the right to try
German nationals for crimes ofany kind wherever committed. The claim
tojurisdictionis thestrongerif, asinthepresentcase, thecriminalactivities
ofthe accused have been committed in the Britis.hZone of Germany, by
German residents ofthis Zone, although, pfcourse, the crimes to which
theaccusedwereallegedtobeaccessories hadtheireffect outside Germany,
inAuschwitz, Poland.
Britishjurisdictioncouldfurtherbebasedoneither
(a) the general doctrine called Universality of Jurisdiction over War
Crimes, underwhicheveryindependentStatehasinInternationalLaw
jurisdictiontopunishpiratesandwarcriminalsinitscustodyregardless
ofthe nationality ofthe victim or the place where the offence was
committed; or
(b) thedoctrinethattheUnitedKingdomhasadirectinterestinpunishing
. the perpetrators of crimes if the victim was a national of an ally
engageoinacommonstruggleagainsta commonenemy.
2. QUESTIONS OF SUBSTANTIVE LAW
(i) The Crime Alleged
Article 46 ofthe Hague Convention of 1907, concerning the Laws and
CustomsofWaronLand, onwhichthecasefortheProsecutionwas based,
providesthat"Familyhonourandrights,individuallifeandprivateproperty,
as well as religious convictions and worship must be respected." This
Articlefalls underthesection heading, Military Authority over the 1'erritory
of the Hostile State, and was intended to refer to acts committed by the
occupying authorities in occupied territory. In the trial ofTesch, the acts
to which the accused were allegedly accessories before the fact were com-
mitted mainly at Auschwitz, in occupied Poland.
(ii) Civilians as war criminals
ThedecisionoftheMilitaryCourtinthepresentcaseis aclearexampleof
the application ofthe rule that the provisions ofthe laws and customs of
warareaddressednotonlytocombatantsandtomembersofstateandother
public authorities, but to anybody who is in a position to assist in their
violation.
The activities with which the accused in the present case were charged
were commercial transactions conducted by civilians. The Military Court
actedontheprinciplethatany civilian who is an accessory to a violation
ofthe laws and customs ofwar is himself also liable as' a war criminal.
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